Fastening device for mail-bags.



No. 633,75l. Patented sept. 2s, |399.

n. w. Brunson.

FASTENING DEVICE F08 HAIL BAGS.-

(Applicnvtion led Aug. 9, 1899.)

(No Model.)

W/TNESSES /N ENTOH ma-ff l ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUSSEL IVILSON BRANSON, OF CHEROKEE, KANSAS;

FASTENING DEVICE FOR lVAiL-BAGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,751, dated September 26, 189 9.

Application ined August 9,1899.

To all whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, RUSSEL WILSON BRAN- SON, of Cherokee, in the county of Crawford and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Fastening Device for Mail-Bags, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a fastening device for mail-bags upon which a pocket adapted to receive a marker or slip will be permanently placed and to provide a means whereby the said device may be permanently attached to the capping-strap of the bag and also whereby the said device will be provided with convenient means for locking the strap to the bag.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastening device for mail-bags which will reduce the weight of the mail-bag, saving time in closing the bag and also reducing the cost of manufacture.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the iigures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a mail bag or sack, illustrating the application of the improved device thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of thedevice and a portion of the capping-strap, the view being drawn on a larger scale than in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken practically on the line 3 8 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 4 et of Fig. 2.

The bag or sack A may be of any desired construction; but the device is particularly adapted for application to mailbags em ployed in the United States Government service. The capping-strap B is likewise attached to the bag at one end in the'usual manner,and the opposite end of the capping-strap carries the improved fastening devicevhich consists of a clip C. This clip is made of metal, usually a metal that can be made quite thin and yet be strong, and the said clip is provided with a tip 11, having a longitudinal slot 12 made therein, adapted to receive a sta- Serial No. 726,686. (No model.)

ple 10. Thus it will be observed that the tip 11 is virtually a hasp-tip. The other end of the device is adapted for permanent attachment to the capping-strap B, and to that end the capping-strap is placed upon the outer face of the clip C and the side edges of the capping-strap are received between the body of the clip and clamping-anges 14,'which are bent outward from the longitudinal edges of the clip and parallel with the body over and in engagement with the outer face of the cappingstrap. The capping-strap B is further attached tothe clip C by means of one or more rivets 18 or the equivalents of the same.

A pocket 15 is formed longitudinally on the outer face of the clip C, between its hasp-tip 11 and its inner end, or the end that is secured to the capping-strap B. This pocket is preferably formed by carrying the side edges of the body of the clip outward and in direction of each other over the said body, and these flanges 16 extend to the outer end of the capping-strap B, which end serves to close the inner end of the pocket 15, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 8. The pocket, however, is open at that end which faces the hasp-tip 11, and the said pocket 15 is adapted to receive a marker or slip 17. The said marker or slip is prevented from leaving the pocket and is held in frictional engagement with the flanges 16 through the medium of a lug 18, which projects fram the outer face of the bottom of the pocket near its receiving end. The said lug 18 mayse produced by upsetting the material of the clip. If desired, the offset 18 may be located just beyond the receiving end of the pocket 15 and in this position will serve to prevent the marker or slip from working out from the pocket.

Vhen a fastening device of the character above described is provided, a mail-bag may be quickly closed, since the clip and the capping-strap are operated together and at the same time, and but one staple is required for locking purposes, while the slip or marker may be placed in its pocket either before or after the capping-strap has been locked to the bag or sack. In the drawings I have illustrated the pocket 15 as of less width than the end of the clip that is attached to the capping-strap g but these two parts may be of the same width, if desired. v

I desire it to be understood that the slipholder can be placed over the end. of the capping-strap when said strap is inserted into the clip, thereby reducing the length of the clip.

Having thusA described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent l. A combined clip and hasp-tip for capping-straps of mail-bags having one end constructed for attachment to one end of the said strap and provided at its other end with a slot to receive a staple, and intermediate of its ends With an open-ended pocket, one end of the pocket being adapted to be closed by the end of the cappingstrap, substantially as described.

2. Acapping-strap for mail-bags, provided With a clip secured t0 the free end of the same, said clip terminating at its free end in a hasp-tip, the clip being further provided with a pocket between its tip and the portion attached to the capping-strap, which pocket is formed by carrying the side edges of the clip outwardly and inwardly in direction of each other over the body of the clip, the end of the capping-strap to which the clip is applied serving to close one end of the pocket, the end facing the hasp-tip of the clip being open, and an offset from the upper face of the clip, adapted for engagement With a marker or slip when placed in said pocket, as described.

RUSSEL W'ILSON BRANSON. vWitnesses:

JOSEPH LUCAS, OLIN CURRY. 

